For the past month or so, Andi Dorfman’s third place Bachelorette finisher Chris Soules has been hard at work informally campaigning for the gig of Bachelor 2015. All that shaking of hands and kissing of babies seems to have worked, but it’s also apparently prepped him to schmooze with the real deal, as the reality star has been spotted with a variety of politicians of the Republican kind in recent weeks. Say what!?

Just this week, while judging a cookout contest at his native Iowa’s State Fair, Chris had a moment with Texas Governor Rick Perry. The controversial pol was in town to gain support in the state for his fall election — as well as a repeat bid for president in 2016. While you’d think Gov. Perry would have more serious things to focus on, he still found time to chat up the Dorf’s cast-off, shaking his hand and even posting a photo to social media together.

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Rick Perry on Twitter

“Enjoyed meeting Chris from the bachelor at the Iowa State Fair today,” Perry’s account tweeted — and Chris retweeted.

Meanwhile, C.Soules has also recently mingled with fellow Republican 2016 hopefuls, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Both politicians met him at an annual party hosted by Iowa GOP heavyweight Bruce Rastetter. Hmm..

As Bachelor and Bachelorette lead’s political affiliations are rarely discussed publicly, it is certainly of interest that Chris may be going into the role next year with a more visible political profile. He hasn’t confirmed that he is a member of the GOP, but attendees at the aforementioned shindig claim he identified as Republican at the event.

If the dimpled hunk is, in fact, Bachelor in 2015 (a big campaigning year), does this mean we could see him throwing his support behind someone publicly? That would be new...

What do you think: Should the Bachelor keep his political opinions private? Sound off in the comments below.